CREAMY AVOCADO SMOOTHIE | Meal Prep Protein Smoothie

Hey guys, today I'm back with one of the easiest smoothie recipes out there and I just know you're gonna love it. I'm taking one of the world's most popular superfoods and turning it into a protein packed smoothie that is delicious and comes together in just 10 minutes. Say hello to the creamiest avocado smoothie in existence. It's the perfect breakfast because it's filled with healthy fats, fiber, and protein and it's also a great snack for when you're craving something sweet but also need something filling to power you through the rest of the day. Now there are a few tips and tricks to making this a super thick and creamy smoothie so let's dive right into the recipe. First up, assemble your ingredients. You'll need a banana, a cup of coconut milk, half a cup of frozen avocado, half a cup of frozen mango, two cups of baby spinach, and a half a cup of vanilla protein powder. This is my basic avocado smoothie recipe and you can of course make substitutions. I'll get to those in a bit. For now, gather those ingredients together and have them ready to go in the blender. In terms of the banana, you're going to want to make sure that it's the perfect shade of yellow or even a little overripe. You definitely don't want to use a green banana here because it'll be too starchy and won't help to provide that sweet flavor you're used to with smoothies. Like I've said in the past, this is the perfect opportunity to use up an overripe banana that you may not necessarily want to eat because the texture is off-putting. If you want to skip the banana, that's totally okay too. Sub in another half cup of sweet fruit that you do enjoy such as pineapple or you could double up on the mango. Now, the coconut milk. You want to make sure you are using the stuff you get in a carton such as the brand Silk. Always look for the unsweetened kind to minimize the calories and sugar. If all you have is canned coconut milk at home, you can definitely use that to get the coconut flavor but you don't want to use an entire cup as it's way fattier and has a lot more calories. In this case, it makes more sense to use about a quarter cup and then sub the rest with water. If you're not a coconut fan, you can also use almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, or even just water will do. Add your banana and coconut milk to the bottom of your blender first so that you can ensure a more even blending experience. Those will start to blend together easier so you aren't having to turn off and unplug your blender to stir all the ingredients a bunch of times. Once you've got those two ingredients added, now's the time to add your frozen avocado and mango. I use frozen avocado to make this smoothie extra creamy. You can totally use fresh avocado instead. Same with the mango. I like the frozen kind to get that thickness and creaminess but you could go with fresh if you need to. You're probably used to seeing frozen avocado more and more at your local grocery store so if you didn't already know, you can freeze fresh avocados you buy at the store as well in case you have a surplus of them. The texture is slightly different if you're trying to enjoy it in a taco or in a sandwich or something but for the most part the taste is the same and frozen avocado is perfect in smoothies. Give it a try if you haven't already and obviously it should go without saying that you don't need to use frozen mango in this recipe. Pineapple, grapes, apples, and peaches are other great options and you can even use frozen berries. The thing with berries is that they will change the color of the smoothie and you're more likely to get seeds floating around which will compromise that creaminess so just keep that in mind. Once you've added your frozen fruit, you're going to add in two cups of baby spinach. I recommend spinach since it is super versatile and you're more likely to use it in other recipes but you can go ahead with any greens here. Kale, romaine lettuce, and swiss chard are other good options. Stay away from arugula and other more peppery greens as they will overpower the flavor of the smoothie. Now the final key to tying this smoothie all together is to add some protein. I really think our recipe is not a proper snack or meal without some protein. There are lots of options here and to keep things simple, I've chosen to add half a cup of protein powder. I normally use a whey protein powder but I've recently given Vega Sport a try because it's a vegan protein powder made of pea and pumpkin seed protein. It's pretty good. When looking for a protein powder, you'll want to ensure it's around 150 calories and 25 to 30 grams of protein per serving as well as one gram of sugar or less per serving. If you want to avoid protein powder altogether, you can totally add other protein sources as well such as greek yogurt, hemp hearts, or chia seeds. I've even seen people recommend adding egg whites to a protein smoothie but I'm just not sure that I can co-sign on that. Once you've gotten everything added to the blender, in the special order I just took you through, you're ready to blend. Start by blending on low and then work your way up to a higher speed. Hopefully you'll avoid having to turn the blender on and off and unplug it a bunch of times to stir everything together. This will be a thick smoothie so some stirring may be needed. Now the smoothie serves two. If you're looking to make one smoothie, be sure to cut all the ingredients in half. You can actually do that on my site as I provide the option for you to change the number of servings in my recipe card. If you do want to make two smoothies at once, one to enjoy now and one to enjoy later, then you can totally refrigerate the leftovers for a couple days. Because you're using frozen fruit, the thick texture may dissolve a little bit but the creaminess should definitely still be there. Enjoy within a day or two of making the smoothie and store in a lidded mason jar for best results. You're looking at about 282 calories and 20 grams of protein with this avocado smoothie so it's perfect for breakfast or a snack. You choose. I've linked to the full recipe below this video and I've also linked some other smoothie and protein shake recipes if you're looking for more flavor combos to up your healthy snack game this year. Thanks so much for tuning in to this video and if you're looking for more healthy ideas, I've got you. Just hit the subscribe button at the end of this video and I'll see you in the next one!